New Zealand

Road safety campaigner blasts NZ government’s ‘culture of silence’ regarding accidents involving foreign drivers

An outspoken road safety campaigner has blasted the New Zealand government’s ‘culture of silence’ regarding accidents involving foreign drivers.

Clive Matthew-Wilson, who edits the car review website dogandlemon.com, says:

“Democracies work best when vital information is freely available. But where accidents involving foreign drivers are concerned, we face a near blackout of important information from the police and the government.”

Warrant of Fitness system ‘broken’

The New Zealand government must act to rebuild a ‘broken’ Warrant of Fitness system, says the car review website dogandlemon.com.

Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson, who is an outspoken road safety campaigner, says the WOF system “has gone from bad to worse since 2013.”

In 2013, WOF-related issues, such as bald tyres, contributed to 12 fatal crashes. By 2018, WOF-related issues had risen 400%, contributing to 51 fatal accidents.

Innocent people die because of unsafe roads and inadequate enforcement

The recent accident near Kaikoura, where two Malaysian children and their parents were killed in a head-on collision with a truck, was easily preventable, says the car review website dogandlemon.com.

Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson, an outspoken road safety campaigner, says:

“First, if the road had had a median barrier, that accident could not have happened.”

“Second, many tourist accidents are related to fatigue. Tourists are tired and make a simple mistake that costs them their lives."

Government negligence driving high road toll

The New Zealand government has utterly failed to take effective action to lower the road toll, says the car review website, dogandlemon.com.

Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson was commenting after two middle-aged tourists collided head-on with a truck in rural Canterbury last Sunday.

“Many New Zealand rural roads are like a staircase without a handrail: you make a mistake and there’s a high chance of getting hurt.”

“Worse, this is the second fatal head-on collision on this road in recent years.”

Government to blame for latest bus fatalities

The government has blood on its hands over the latest fatal bus accident, says the car review website dogandlemon.com.

Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson, who is an outspoken road safety campaigner, says:

"The simple truth is, if the occupants of that bus had been wearing seatbelts, they'd probably be alive right now. There's no excuse: the police and government have been saying for years that people need to wear seatbelts, yet the bus industry is allowed to operate without them."

Bring back the six-monthly Warrant of Fitness

The government should bring back six-monthly Warrant of Fitness inspections for the majority of cars and light commercial vehicles, says the car review website dogandlemon.com.

Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson, who is an outspoken road safety campaigner, says:

Minister should resign over e-scooter death

Yesterday's e-scooter death was the result of corrupt and reckless mismanagement by the government and the Minister of Transport should resign, says the car review website dogandlemon.com.

Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson, who is an outspoken road safety campaigner, says e-scooters were effectively sneaked onto the nation’s footpaths, without consultation and without a proper safety plan.

Banning unsafe cars may not improve safety

Attempts to improve safety by banning the import of older vehicles may actually keep older vehicles on the road longer, says the car review website dogandlemon.com.

Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson, who is an outspoken road safety campaigner, says the government needs to remember what happened in 2008.

Government risks voter backlash over lowered speed limits

The government is likely to face a significant voter backlash if speed limits are reduced unreasonably, says the car review website dogandlemon.com.

Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson, who is an outspoken road safety campaigner, says:

“It’s currently fashionable in government circles to blame speed for causing increased road deaths. The facts don’t support this view.”

“The government’s own statistics show that speed alone is a factor in just 15% of fatal crashes.”

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